Plant dusting device



May 22, 195l f v v. WALTERS 2,554,432

PLANT DUSTING DEVICE Filed June 26, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 In@ 5 i i INVENToR.

V. WA LTE RS PLANT DUSTING DEVICE May 22, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1944 INVENTOR. I Kf//V'Mff/s Patented May 22, 1951 PLANT DUSTINC DEVIC Vernon ...'Walters, `Denver, Colo., assignor to AIILIowry-Berg, Inc., a corporation of Colorado Application June 26, 19445', .Serial No. 542,222

' iolaiij" (01.43-148) `This invention relates to aplant dustingattachment for tractors and has for its principal object the provision of a simple, highly enicient device. which can be quickly and easily Vattached to a tractor of any type; which will be adjustable so'that the spray nozzles can be placed at any desired spacing or height over the plants; which will beadjustable to adapt it to the particular type of tractor upon which it is to be used; and which will employY the power take-olf of the tractor for driving the operating mechanism. ,A

Another object of the invention is to provide a feeding device for the powder which will feed the powderuniformly regardless of the amount of powder in the storage bin.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, vwhich is designed for simplicity, economy, and eiciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Lilie Ynumerals refer to like parts in all views ofthe drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing: Fig. l is a rear perspective View of the improved plant dusting device, illustrating it in position on a typical tractor;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the powder storv'ltator `and powder feeding brush employed-in the device;

Fig. 6 is a rear fragmentary perspective view of the blower portion of the improved dusting attachment;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged side view of the dusting nozzle employed in the invention;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged horizontal section through the dusting nozzle taken on the line 8 8, Fig. 7:

Fig. 9 is a detail top view of the powder storage bin of the improved attachment; and

Fig. 10 is a detail view illustrating the manner of attaching the invention to a typical tractor. l In the drawing, parts of a typical tractor are Vdesignated by numerals as follows: ground engaging wheels I0, steering wheel Ii, seat I2, power take-off shaft i3, draw bar Ill, rear axle 'housing 1I, and implement attachment ears 10.

The improved plant dusting attachment is'sup- (members 33. ing toward or away from the tractor allowsthe ported on two longitudinal frame members I5 carrying tractor attachment plates I6 on Vtheir forward extremities. The plates l5 are provided with suitable bolt holes, as shown in Fig. 2, by means of which they may be bolted to a tractor in any desired manner. As illustrated in Fig. l0, the plates it are bolted to implement ears I0 on the rear axle housing '!I. The rearward extrmities `Yof the longitudinal frame members I5 are supported by means of angle braces 58 eitending to the tractor draw barili. `Each frame member I5 terminates at its rear in two parallel clamping clips Il, between each pair of which a vertical standard i8 is clamped by lmeans of clamp bolts IS. The standards i8 are held in spaced relation by means of a cross bar 6E). A nozzle bar 2G is adjustably clamped to the vertical standards I8 by means of diagonal clamps 2| actuated by clamp bolts 22. g Y 'l The nozzle bar preferablyconsists of three sections; a Xed middle section hinged at its extremities to two hinged sections upon suitable hinge bolts 23. This allows the hinged sections to be folded upwardly and inwardly as indicated in broken lines in Fig. l for transportation purposes. The extremities of the nozzle bar 2l! are supported by means of flexible cables 2t extending from the two extremities of the bar upwardly and inwardly over sheaves 25, thence downwardly to any suitable connection on the tractor.

A plurality of powder distributing nozzles 25 are adjustably clamped to the bar 2B by means of suitable straps 2l. The spacing of the straps `2lyalong the bar can be variedat will and the height of the nozzles above the plants can be vadjusted by changing the position of the clamps 2| on the standards i8 or the position of the standards in the clips i1.

The powder is fed to the nozzles 26 through suitable flexible tubes 28 from a blower yfan 29 housed in a suitable blower housing 30. The

blower housing is supported between a base angle member 3| and a frame member 32. The latter two members rest upon cross-frame members 33 along which they are adjustable by means of adjusting bolts 3Q. are adjustably mounted at their extremities on the longitudinal frame members I5 by means of suitable clamping ears 35 and bolts 36. This construction allows the blower housing to vbe adjusted toward or away from the tractor along the frame members I5 and toward either Sideof the center line of the tractor along the frame The adjustment of the blower hous- The cross-frame members blower housing to be moved to align it with the various positions of the power-take off shafts on differing types of tractors so that the attachment may be applied to any given tractor.

The fan 29V is mounted on a blower shaft 3l journalled in suitable bearings 38 mounted on the frame member 32. The shaft 3l terminates in a driven pulley 3.9:. The pulley 39 is driven from a drive pulley 4B, mounted on the power take-off shaft I3, by means of suitable transmission belts I I. The adjustability of the position of the blower housing allows the slack to be taken up in the belts for any type of tractor arrangement.

The blower housing discharges through a series of nipples 42, there being a series of nipples at each side of the housing. These nipples are connected to the exible tubes 28 in any desired manner and each feeds one of the nozzles 26. Each nipple is provided with an individual control damper, the position of which may be set by means of a damper lever 3. Thus, the supply of air to the nozzles can be individually controlled to obtain uniform distribution and to close 01T any nozzles not desired. It will be noted that the nipples at one side of the blower housing take air from the top thereof while the nipples at the opposite side take the air from the bottom thereof.

The powder is stored in a storage bin 45 provided with a suitable lid 59 and having a hopper bottom 45. The bin is supported above the blower housing 3B upon suitable braces 6. The hopper bottom 45 terminates in a feed chamber il having a discharge opening i8 in its bottom. The size of the discharge opening is controled by means of a slide valve i9 operable from a valve lever i?. A powder chute 5I conveys the powder from the discharge opening i8 into the intake axis of the fan 29. The powder in the feed chamber ii is constantly agitated by means of a rotating spider e2. The spider is mounted on a. hub 63 fixed on the extremity of a feed shaft t2 extending from a standard speed reducer 53.

The speed reducer is driven through the medium of a suitable V-belt 561 from the blower shaft 3?. Thus, whenever the blower shaft is operating, the spider 52 will be rotating to prevent packing of the material in the feed chamber 4l. The speed reducer and the belt 54 are covered by a suitable cover plate 6I.

A circular brush 55 is also mounted on the hub $3 so as to rotate therewith. The bristles of the brush member constantly sweep across the discharge opening 158 to sweep the powder therein. The powder falls in a uniform distributed stream into the intake of the blower from whence it will be blown to the powder nozzles 2%.

Any packing which may occur in the hopper bottom d5 can be loosened by means of stirring rods 55 which project from a stirring shaft 'I3 extending across the bin lil at one side thereof. The stirring shaft 'i3 terminates in an operating lever 51 on the exterior of the bin lili as shown in Fig. 9.

It is desireclto call attention to the ease with which the device may be attached to a standard tractor. It is only necessary to bolt the attachment bars I6 to the tractor chassis and the angle braces 58 to the draw bar I4. The belt 5I is then placed in position and the device is ready for operation. The device can be completely `removed from the tractor by simply removing four attachment bolts and is readily adjustable for ltractors of different height along the standards 4 I8 and for various positions of tractor take-off shafts along the longitudinal frame members |75.

An adjustable stop screw 64 is provided in the back of the valve lever 5t to limit its opening movement. The operator sets the stop screw at the point to obtain the desired dust distribution and thereafter need only swing the lever 50 to its two extreme positions without further adjustment. Y

It is desired to call attention to the novel construction of the nozzles 26. These are formed from two substantially triangular pieces of sheet metal joined along their inclined edges as shown at 65 by means of crimping, welding, etc. The two sheets terminate at the top in a tubular sleeve E'I into which the flexible tubes 2S discharge. Each sheet is providedrwith a vertical indentation 53 at its middle so that in the assembled nozzles these indentations will form a restricted throat at the bottom of the nozzle.

The maximum discharge of dust will, of course, be vertically under the discharge of the tube 28. By placing a restricted throat at this point, this maximum discharge is broken up and spreadto the two sides of the nozzle so as to cause a uniform discharge throughout the entire width of the ope-n bottom thereof.

The indented sheet metal construction of the nozzle forms a convenient means for adjustment to obtain a uniform discharge for if it is found that too much dust is discharging at the middle portion, it is only necessary to squeeze the indentations 66 toward each other; and if too little is discharging at the middle, these indentations can be easily pried apart until the desired uniform distribution is obtained.

While the invention has been described as an attachment for tractors, it can, of course, be constructed as'an independent unit on wheels of its v own, if desired, without changing the principles of operation.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described andillustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

A plant dusting attachment for a tractor of the type having a horizontal, transversally-extending, draw bar across the rear thereof, and a rearwardly-extending power take-off shaft, comprising: two parallel, horizontal, longitudinallyextending frame members; attachment means on the forward extremity of each frame member arranged for attachment to a tractor; a supporting brace below each frame member extending forwardly and downwardly to said draw bar; a 4pair of parallel clamping clips extending from the rearward extremity of each frame member;

-a vertical standard positioned between each pair of clamping clips and extending upwardly and downwardly therefrom; a clamping bolt clamping each pair of clips to one of said standards; a horizontal nozzle bar extending across the downwardly-projecting portions of said standards; a pair of diagonally-positioned clamping strips extending aoross the points of intersection between each standard and said nozzle bar; a pair of clamp bolts drawing the clamping strips of each pair against the front and rear faces of the nozzle bar and standard, respectively, to lock said nozzle bar to said standards; two parallel, horizontal cross members extending between said frame members; a pair of parallel clamping ears projecting from each extremity of each cross member in vertical, spaced-apart relation, the upper ear of each pair extending over one of said frame members, the lower ear of each pair extending beneath one of said frame members; a clamping bolt clamping each pair of ears to one of said frame members; a blower supported on said cross members; means for securing said blower at any desired point along said cross members; means for feeding powder to said blower; powder-distributing nozzles; means for clamping said nozzles in spaced relation along Said nozzle bar; iexible conduits connecting said nozzles to said blower; a belt pulley on siad l5 blower; a second belt pulley on said power takeoff shaft; and an endles belt extending around both pulleys for driving said blower, the clamping clips allowing the downward projection of the standards to be varied to suit given crops, the diagonally positioned strips allowing the position of thev nozzle bar to be Varied to accommodate various crops, said clamping ears allowing the forward and back positions of the blower to be adjusted to bring the two pulleys into alignment on various makes of tractors, and the means for securing the blower at any desired point along the cross members allowing the tension in the 6 belt to be regulated to suit various tractors and Various driving conditions.

VERNON WALTERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 17,209 Oechsle Feb. 5, 1929 157,256 Wiard Nov. 24, 1874 392,289 Roach Nov. 6, 1888 959,819 Towner May 31, 1910 1,475,957 Lemons Dec. 4, 1923 1,515,336 Brandt Nov. 11, 1924 1,674,391 Dunnagan June 19, 1928 1,769,159 Oechsle July 1, 1930 2,040,345 Heim May 19, 1936 2,157,530 Root May 9, 1939 2,171,205 Zinke Aug. 29, 1939 2,242,722 Henry May 20, 1941 2,279,495 Root Apr. 14, 1942 2,425,419 Carnes Aug. 12, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 472,197 France July 29, 1914 

